This invention relates generally to aerosol inhalers which dispense medication dispersed in a propellant and more particularly concerns personalized carrying cases for the inhalers together with the canister of medication and propellant they dispense.
Asthma is, unfortunately, an all too common respiratory disorder. Fortunately, most asthmatics are able to perform, some at the highest levels of athletic competition, despite this disorder. Usually, relief from an asthma attack is had by inhaling albuterol sulfate dispensed by a propellant such as ethanol from a disposable canister loaded into a personal inhaler. The inhaler, including the loaded canister, generally fits in a small pocket, bag, purse or the like for immediate access as needed. However, the inhaler and disposable canister are independent components and, when jostled during normal activities, the canister can be dislodged from the inhaler. It often occurs, therefore, at the stressful moment of need, that the inhaler and the canister must be separately found and then assembled for use. Furthermore, in special circumstances such as athletic competitions, the inhalers and canisters may not be permitted to be carried on the person or to be present in the immediate area of activity. Consequently, the user must store the inhaler at a convenient location away from the immediate area but quickly accessible when needed. This problem is compounded in the case of team athletics or other events where much equipment and apparel may be stored in the proximate area and especially when a team or group has more than one asthmatic member. In such circumstances, the inhalers must not only be quickly located but also immediately distinguished as belonging to a particular user.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a carrying case for an inhaler which secures the canister against separation from its loaded condition in the inhaler. Another object of this invention is to provide a carrying case for an inhaler which has a mechanism for attaching and detaching the case containing the inhaler and canister to any of a variety of external objects which may be found in a known and easily accessible location such as a belt loop, fence wire, storage ring or the like. A further object of this invention is to provide a carrying case for an inhaler which displays indicia useful to immediately distinguish a case containing an inhaler and canister which is stored with similar cases containing inhalers and canisters as belonging to a particular user.
In accordance with the invention, a case is provided for carrying an inhaler holding a cylindrical canister inserted axially into a cylindrical receptacle of the inhaler in transverse relationship to a cylindrical mouthpiece of the inhaler. An elastically radially deformable cylindrical sleeve is resiliently expandable to slidably axially receive the inhaler receptacle through one of its ends. The sleeve grips the inserted inhaler receptacle. An elastically lengthwise deformable strap is fixed at its ends to and extends diametrically across the other end of the sleeve. This strap resiliently stretches to secure the canister against inadvertent release from the receptacle. A mechanism, preferably a spring clip connected to the sleeve by a loop, is also provided for attaching and detaching the case to and from an external object such as a belt loop, fence wire, storage ring or the like. An aperture in the sleeve exposes a portion of the exterior surface of the receptacle so that suitable indicia can be adhered to the exposed portion of the receptacle surface to distinguish any given inhaler from similar inhalers. Such indicia might, for example, include the user""s initials, uniform number or the like.